Bangalore Events

Bengaluru Habba

The annual Bengaluru Habba showcases the best of India's
emerging dance, art, music and film artists. The entire city of
Bengaluru (as it's now known) becomes a venue, with parks, temples,
malls and other public places being converted into performance
areas where festival-goers can take in the cultural fare and enjoy
interactive sessions. All events are free and aim to reinstate
Bangalore as the cultural capital of India, and there is always
some magnificent folk art to be purchased for friends and family
back home. The festival was started in 2003 by the Artist
Foundation for Arts, and has hosted over 10,000 artists from around
the state, the country and overseas. Many museums, galleries and
artistic institutions celebrate the festival by hosting events and
offering special deals, and the city bursts with concerts, plays,
dancing extravaganzas and craft markets. Buskers perform on many
street corners and Bengaluru seems constantly filled with music.
Much of the festivities are sponsored by businesses, constituting
an impressive marriage of industry and the arts.

Dussehra (Dasara) Festival

The first big festival of the season, Dussehra is typically
celebrated for 10 days in anticipation of the beginning of harvest
season. The festival is the culmination of the nine day fasting
period of Navratri in the Hindu culture, and also coincides with
the immersion ceremony of the model of the Goddess Durga. In
Bangalore Dussehra has added meaning, as it is taken to commemorate
the victory of the goddess Cahmundeshwari over the demon
Mahishasur; there are many myths and stories associated with the
festival, which is thought to date back to the 17th century. The
city where the festival is said to have had its origins, Mysore,
holds particularly spirited celebrations, with a grand procession
in honour of the Goddess Chamundeshwari. Dussehra is celebrated
through an assortment of religious performances and rituals, which
are intended to activate the fertility of the soil and invoke the
mother goddess Ravana. Travellers can expect to see bonfires and
fireworks, paper and wood effigies of Ravana (which are later
burnt), and to have a (red spot) painted on their
foreheads by enthusiastic devotees. Festivities vary from district
to district but it is a popular festival throughout the country.